Discoveries
by Tic
Summary: After believing in something for years, Jarod finds out that it isn't true...
1. Discoveries, part 1

DISCOVERIES, PART ONE

Disclaimer: None of the Pretender characters belong to me even as much as I wished they did. All I own is the story that I write. 

A/N: I want to thank Dede for betaing this story. She's been great! =)

-----

"Did you ever think of yourself as my father?"

"I never allowed myself to do so, Jarod"

The conversation swirled around in Jarod's head as he walked towards the bus stop. It had started to rain, but he didn't notice. He had always believed that even if he never found his biological father, or they took him back to the Centre, he would at least have Sydney. The man was like a father to him, it hurt him to think that he wasn't like a son to Sydney. But he couldn't allow himself to dwell on it - that would lead to mistakes, and mistakes would get him captured and yet again brought back to a life in imprisonment. He bought a newspaper and got into the bus. Now he had to look for others to help. Perhaps the paper could help him?

************6 Months later*************

It was dusk as Jarod sneaked along the wall outside the Centre. He had to find a suitable place to get inside. That was easier said than done. He couldn't come in the way he had gotten out because that was 3 meters above ground. He had been lucky not to break anything when he escaped for the first time! Finally he found a window and got inside. It was a tricky job; he had never been to a house with more alarms than the Centre. After he had gotten inside he went straight for the air duct, which was one way that he could use over and over again. He smirked at the idea - the Centre - all mighty and powerful, didn't get that it was through the air ducts he had escaped. If they had, then they would have secured them, wouldn't they…? 

A shudder went through him - the people at the Centre weren't stupid. He had to get out of the duct, quickly. He jumped through the first vent he came across and landed on a desk. It was Sydney's - what a coincidence. He could hear people running around in the halls. Yep - he had been right - there had been installed an alarm since his last visit. Damn - how was he supposed to get out?

***

Sydney ran through the halls…the message from Miss Parker had been urgent. Something about Jarod and that they finally had him. He didn't really get that - the only way that they could have been able to catch Jarod was if he wanted to be catched. Oh well, he would find out soon enough.

*** 

Jarod stepped down from the desk after he had re-attached the vent so that no one would guess where he had gotten out. Then he started to search for a place to hide if it came to that, and he suspected that it would. He found the traditional hiding spot. Under the couch - it was fairly hard to spot him there, unless you came in looking for him then…

***

"Miss Parker!" Sydney was almost out of breath as he reached her. She turned and looked at him.

"Yes?"

"You said you had captured Jarod! Where is he?"

"I never said that we _had captured him, just that we're close" Miss Parker started to walk toward the place where Sam stood. Sydney followed._

"How close?"

"He's in the air ducts"

"How do you know?" Sydney was starting to suspect that they weren't even close in retrieving Jarod. 

"After his last little breaking and entering scheme we secured the ducts. Something set off the alarm"

"You don't know that it's Jarod. It could be a rat for all you know!"

"We don't have rats at the Centre"

"Oh, we have plenty…..I'll be at my office. Call me if it is anything remotely interesting." Sydney walked off, leaving a dumbfounded Miss Parker behind. 

**************

Jarod started going through Sydney's desk. He supposed this was the best place to start searching for some information about that kid he was looking for here. Sydney was probably the one taking care of him; he was after all - the most capable psychologist that the Centre had. Finally he found something - a box. Jarod sensed that there was something special about this box so he treated it with caution as he put it on the desk. Then he opened it and the things that were inside were all the things he hadn't expected. The fathers' day cards he thought Sydney had thrown away, a birthday present he had once made (Another thing he had though of as thrown away). There were also birthday cards for Jarod from Sydney in there. He had made them even if he knew that Jarod would never see them - it wasn't allowed. Tears were rolling down Jarod's face and he sank into the chair. That was how Sydney found him…

_End part one_

_ So, what did you think? Please review!!_


	2. Discoveries, part 2

DISCOVERIES, PART TWO

Disclaimer: None of the Pretender characters belong to me even as much as I wished they did. All I own is the story that I write. 

A/N: I want to thank Dede for betaing this story. She's been great! 

And I also want to thank the people who reviewed this story. =)

-----

Sydney looked at his Pretender, wondering what could be wrong. Then he looked down at the box and up at Jarod again adding it up. He carefully closed the door to his office, locked it and drew the curtains in front of the window in the door to ensure that no one would suddenly come in. 

Jarod made no move…didn't try to get away or make contact with Sydney. He just followed him with his eyes. 

Sydney carefully walked across the room to retrieve the box, and then he sat down on the couch. He studied everything in there carefully, as if it was the first time he had seen it – determined not to be the one that broke the silence. 

This went on for several minutes. Sydney sitting on the couch looking through the box, while Jarod was staring at him – desperate to get his emotions under control and start to think rationally. It appeared that he finally managed because he suddenly spoke. 

"I heard what you said earlier - to your son, I mean"

Sydney looked up and set the box down beside him.

"I said a lot of things to him. What do you mean?"

"That being the biological father doesn't necessary make you a father. The real father is the one that are there for you when you grow up; watches while you learn new things, helps you up when you fall, bandages your knee when you hurt it and so on"

"That's right, I said that."

There was a pause until both men looked down.

"Where are you going with this Jarod?"

"I want to know how you could let me believe that I was nothing more than some sort of a guinea pig to you, when in reality I was more!"

Jarod stood up and began to pace.

"You were?"

"Yes! Why else would you save the cards I made you? And why would you make me cards and presents for my birthdays even if you knew that you could never give them to me?!"

Jarod's voice began to rise, so Sydney stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. Jarod didn't accept the gesture so he turned around and walked towards the door.

"You've got to calm down Jarod. If you don't someone will hear you and then you will be captured."

Upon hearing this Jarod spun around and pointed a finger at Sydney as he walked towards his mentor. 

"There's another thing. You don't want them to catch me, do you?"

"What do you mean? Of course I want you back, I've never implied otherwise"

"But you don't want them to catch me, if you did then you would have called for help now and captured me. And you wouldn't have stopped Miss Parker from shooting me that time if you didn't care"

Sydney was at a loss for words. He saw Jarod as the son he never had, that is, the son he **thought he didn't have. But he wouldn't admit it, because he knew then Jarod would be more vulnerable. **

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, something happened; he could almost describe is as 'saved by the bell'. Only that this particular bell could get both him and Jarod in trouble if she discovered the prodigy which was standing...., wherever he was standing. He had slipped past him as Sydney focused on the door. Now he was probably hiding somewhere in the office

"Sydney! Are you in there?? Open the damned door!" 

Miss Parker slammed her fist hard in the poor door for the third time.

"I'm in here Miss Parker. Hold on for a second and calm down. I only have one door you know – what would I do if you were to break it?"

Miss Parker walked quickly past Sydney and into the office as he opened the door. She scanned the room before turning towards him. 

"Why was your door locked? What's going on Sydney?"

"Nothing's going on, Miss Parker. You woke me up in the middle of the night for a wild goose-chase after Jarod. I merely locked the door so that I could get some privacy while trying to get some sleep. But yet again, you woke me up."

Ms. Parker took a step towards him, looking him straight in the eyes. 

"You slept while we're closer to finding Jarod than we've been for months?!?

"No. -- I slept, but I don't think that we're close to finding him"

"Why is that?"

"Jarod is too smart to be caught by a simple air-duct alarm. He knows that we found out how he both ran away, and sneaked in again. Of course he would understand that you've secured it."

"You have way too much confidence in your little lab-rat."

Miss Parker took a step away from Sydney, just looking at him.

"And it was a nice explanation you had there, except for one thing – one minor detail."

Sydney crossed his arms over his chest, and then proceeded to move one of his hands up under his chin.

"What are you talking about?"

"You look exactly as you did when I spoke to you ten minutes ago"

"Of course I do, it was only ten minutes, I don't age that quickly"

"You know what I mean. You even have your jacket still on. Don't come here and tell me that you sleep in it – that would just be an offence to my intelligence."

Sydney was about to respond when Miss Parker noticed something in the room. She turned away from him.

"You know Sydney – the remark you made earlier about the Centre having plenty of rats..... you were right – and I believe that I've just found one!"

End part two So… what do you think? Please review! 


	3. Discoveries, part 3

DISCOVERIES, PART ONE

Disclaimer: None of the Pretender characters belong to me even as much as I wished they did. All I own is the story that I write. 

A/N: I want to thank Dede for betaing this story. She's been great! =)

------

"What do you mean – you've just found a rat?"

"Just what I said...I've found a rat. A lab-rat to be precise."

"And where have you found it, or should I say him – because I presume that you mean Jarod"

"Brilliant Sherlock"

Miss Parker drew her gun and held it in front of her – ready to shoot anything that moved. Especially if it was a rat....

"You can stop searching because he's not here."

"Surprise, surprise. You're trying to protect him, and I'm not believing you"

She continued to move towards the couch. 

"Jarod. I'm going to count to five and within that time you will come out of that ridiculous little hiding place of yours, or I'll set a bullet through it which will probably go through you as well."

"1"

"2"

"Miss Parker, don't be ridiculous. You'll only ruin my couch."

"You make enough money; buy a new one.......3"

"You can't do this"

"Watch me"

"4"

"Stop it Parker"

"5"

Miss Parker took final aim, but just as she was about to pull the trigger, Sydney stretched out a hand and grabbed her gun pointing it upwards, toward the ceiling.

"Well, well. Look who just got caught lying. Can't believe you fell for that!"

"Fell for what?"

"I had no idea where he was. I came here to tell you that we'd called off the search. You had your door locked, and if that weren't reason enough for me to get suspicious – you came up with that lame excuse about sleeping."

Miss Parker lit a cigarette and blew the smoke in Sydney's face.

"I didn't know if he was under the couch or not, and even if I knew I would never have pulled the trigger. Have you got any idea what the Centre would do to me if I killed their prodigy? See for yourself – the safety is on."

Sydney angrily took the gun from Ms. Parker and looked at it. – she was telling the truth. He then put the gun on his desk while Ms. Parker bend down to get Jarod – drag out him by his hair if necessary. But he wasn't there. 

"Where is he?!"

"What do you mean?" 

Sydney again feigned innocence. 

"Cut the crap Syd, it's getting really old, really fast! Either you tell me where he is, or I'll tell my father that you tried to hide him. What do you think will happen to you then??"

"Honestly Parker. He was here, but when I turned around after focusing a little on the door you were banging on he had disappeared."

"Again, I don't believe you."

She turned away from Sydney.

"Jarod!! Wherever you are; come forth or Syd here will get it pretty bad the next years....."

Suddenly a finger tapped her on the shoulder and she quickly turned around while speaking.

"Sydney, I told....."

She abruptly shut up when she saw who it was. Jarod! Sydney had a mix of a shocked and sad expression on his face. This was exactly what he had feared would happen if Jarod ever got such an idea into his head. Thinking of him as a father! He was in that case the lousiest father ever to walk on this earth! 

A gloating Miss Parker interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Well, well, what have we here"

Ms. Parker was really enjoying this. Putting her hands on her hips also helped increase the confidence she already was showing. 

"The long lost son has finally come home..."

"Son?"

"It's kind of an expression..... didn't really expect you to figure that out."

Jarod released his breath quietly without knowing that he was holding it. So she didn't know – that was good. There was no way that he would be placed under Sydney's care if they knew....

Speaking of which. What was up with him? His face clearly showed annoyance. Jarod thought for sure that his mentor would be happy if he came back....

Miss Parker had already phoned Sam and Willie. They were right around the corner. Sydney couldn't really comprehend all this. Jarod was back. The sweepers were right around the corner. Jarod was back. When did Parker call the sweepers? Jarod was back! Sydney had to sit down. 

"What's wrong – Syd. Not happy with getting your test subject back? Now we can finally go back to our normal lives. That would mean you brainwashing some poor child, me up with the high bosses and Broots, well, I don't know what Broots normally does."

Miss Parker seemed so pleased with herself. Could she really be so happy over not having to work with him and Broots anymore? Sydney refused to believe that she was. There had to be something else under this obvious charade. He just didn't know what. But there had to be!

The two Sweepers suddenly came running into the room, grabbing Jarod and putting handcuffs on him. 

Sydney winced at the pain his charge obviously was in. He decided to try and reason with Miss Parker.

"Is that really necessary Parker? I mean, he gave himself up; no real danger that he'll run away"

"You can bet your life, it's necessary. He ran away the last time we had him here in the centre, remember?!"

She brought the conversation to an end by turning away from Sydney and walking out the door, waving her hand a little so that the Sweepers would follow with Jarod.  Sydney sighed and started to follow. Determined to find out where they were taking him. He was met with Miss Parker's hand. 

"You're not coming. I'm not going to risk loosing him again."

"You can't deny me from coming along. He's still my assignment and I have the right to see where he's being taken"

"I'll tell you when he's safely secured. Don't worry – I wouldn't dream of taking your little experiment from you..."

He opened his mouth to speak again but after noticing Miss Parker's glare, changed his mind and shut it again. 

"Wise choice... I'll be in touch." She let out a little laugh, still not completely believing she had finally captured Jarod. Her father would be so proud! She was practically glowing with pride as she walked away to catch up with Willie, Sam and Jarod.

Sydney watched them walk away and around a corner, before he sighed yet again and walked into his office – closing the door behind him. He had some serious thinking to do!

End part three So, how did you like this part? Please review!! Because if no one is reading, then there's no point in writing any more, is there…? ;-) 


	4. Discoveries, part 4

DISCOVERIES, PART ONE

Disclaimer: None of the Pretender characters belong to me even as much as I wished they did. All I own is the story that I write. 

A/N: I want to thank Dede for betaing this story. She's been great! =)

It all started when Jarod came on this unannounced visit. Normally it would be rather nice to talk to him in person, but not this time – too much was at stake here! He had been looking for something. It was either that or he had decided to pull one of the pranks which he obviously had grown rather fond of. But he had brought nothing with him – so it had to be something that he was searching for. But what was it? Sydney hadn't the faintest idea on what it could be. He had to think about that later and maybe search through some of the Centres latest files – see if there was anything new. All he knew was that Jarod hadn't found what he was looking for. 

But that didn't mean that he hadn't found something – oh no! He had found something that Sydney had hoped to keep away from him, something that he never was supposed to see. 

Sydney again picked up the box that had started this whole mess. Why had he kept these things? Of sentimental reasons, that said itself, but he should have known better. With a job like this *sigh*, you couldn't afford to be overcome with emotions. He carefully picked up each object and studied them thoroughly. They sure brought back memories. Both pleasant and unpleasant. 

A shudder went through him as he thought of what might have happened if Miss Parker or Broots had come in with him. Well, Broots he could handle, but not Miss Parker. What was wrong with her? She was wearing a mask; over the years he had sometimes been able to see at least partly of her true face – and what he had seen and discovered was a lot better than the mask she was wearing.

            But still, if she had been here.....

Jarod had been unable to control his emotions upon finding this box. If he had started talking about the father/son feelings, Sydney knew they would never give Jarod back to him.

And finally – the confrontation. Jarod was convinced that Sydney looked at him as his son. Which was true, to some extent. At least that was what Sydney had convinced himself over the years, and he wasn't all-sure if he wanted to disturb those emotions. But for the emotions he had this day – those had to be put under control and sorted out before he could face Jarod again. It was imperative. Or else this whole thing would end with disaster – which was pretty much where it was headed already.

No, this was a very complicated situation. And Sydney didn't have the faintest idea on how to deal with it!

_-------------_

The sweepers weren't exactly gentle when they pushed Jarod into something that resembled a cell. There were bars in front of the little window in one corner, and the door was of massive steel. Come to think of it – it was a cell. And Jarod was not happy to be there. But what could he have done? Run away and let Sydney take it all on himself.... no, he couldn't do that. Not to Sydney.

Miss Parker stepped into the room and let the door slam shut behind her. Jared was staring at her, and there was something about his glare that made her very uncomfortable. She wondered for a little while why that could be, but ended up just shrugging it off. She had gotten him back and there was nothing that could spoil her moment of glory. 

--------------

Lyle ran as fast as he could down the hall. He couldn't believe his own ears when Willie came and told him what had happened. His sister had retrieved the Centres most valuable property. Guess she wasn't as incompetent as he thought…might want to put a little more time into ensuring that she didn't find out about what he was doing…. Finally he reached his goal and then his breath sounded worse and more strained than the person he had to talk to. He really had to begin to work out.

**--------------**

"So...wonder boy...you finally got caught. I imagine that you truly believed   
we would never catch you." Jarod studied Miss Parker as she spoke. _She   
couldn't have wiped the grin away to save her life.  
_  
"One question springs to mind though...Sydney was protecting you - why did   
you give yourself up?" _No point in answering that, she thinks she has the   
answer. _She didn't wait for a possible response to her question, but carried   
on talking while walking around in the room - all the time studied by Jarod.  
  
"I will find out why.... I know how much you cherished the little freedom   
you had...after all, I've been working on your case for a very long time   
now. I will find out." _Now she would stop and turn._ She stopped and turned   
towards the door.  
  
"Sam!" _Slow, confidant steps towards the door._ Her steps towards the door   
was taken slowly...to make sure that Jarod understood that she could walk in   
and out when she wanted to and he couldn't. She was stronger.  
  
"Guess we aren't finished with each other after all." _Turn of head and a   
satisfied grin before she left_...She turned her head and grinned before   
stepping out the door.  
  


He knew her all too well. 

--------------

Sydney was still thinking about the night's events and old memories were coming back at full force. They weren't all pleasant – pretty much the opposite for all of them. God, how could they have done those things to an innocent child?! He always tried to think that he wasn't a part of it 

–  That he was better and not so cruel. It wasn't true; he was as bad as the others. In some ways Raines was better than him because he didn't try to hide his true self. *That* was not a pleasant thought, but it had to be sought out and thought over.  Maybe it was time for him to leave the Centre….

--------------

Now that Ms. Parker had left, and Jarod was sitting in complete darkness, he started to analyse the things that had happened. He was, in a way, glad that it was dark. He thought better then.

            Sydney saw him as a son. There was no doubt about it. At first there had been, but that doubt got smaller when Jarod studied his mentors eyes – and it disappeared completely when he heard that Sydney refused to tell Miss Parker where Jarod was, even if he knew that he would get in trouble; if it had been anyone else than him it might have been lethal. 

Question was: what should he do about it? Every second he spent with Sydney was videotaped and recorded. If he tried to talk about it then he was sure that he would never see Sydney again. 

Only way was to get Sydney to leave the Centre with him. Then they could talk – but how should he do it? He had never understood why, but Sydney felt this obligation to the Centre. Making him leave would not be easy…

--------------

"Jarod is back…. Are you completely sure of this?" Raines stepped closer to Lyle as he spoke – visibly angry and upset. Lyle looked scared for a second, but caught himself and calmly answered… "Yes, I'm sure". "This is bad" Raines turned away and headed for the door, apparently talking to himself, but loud enough for Lyle to hear. "He couldn't have returned on a less convenient time… we must speed things up"

End part four. 

_So, what do you think of it so far? Please review!! I need to know what people think of this story before I consider continuing it… =)_


	5. Discoveries, part 5

DISCOVERIES, PART FIVE

Disclaimer: None of the Pretender characters belong to me even as much as I wished they did. All I own is the story that I write. 

A/N: I want to thank Dede for betaing this story. She's been great! =)

I also want to thank the people who have reviewed =)

There are a lot of doors in the Centre. Most are opened everyday, and there's much activity going on there – often of the illegal kind. But some of them haven't been opened in years and no one seems to know what's in there. Since 'Curiosity killed the cat' is a well-known saying in this particular cooperation; you might even call it a rule, no one wonders about the doors. And in the rare cases that some do they would never try to figure out what was behind them or even tell others that they're wondering.  

But the same goes for this one as any other rule, someone will eventually break it – and possibly even get away with it.

"A-are you sure this is a good idea, Ms Parker. I mean, Jarod is back – what are we looking for now?"

"Stop being such a sissy Broots. The lame excuse of a man that I'm supposed to introduce as my brother has been going in and out of that door for days; I want to find out what's going on."

"How do you know that he's done that? We're at a sublevel 26. No one is supposed to be here. Everything was closed years ago down here."

Ms. Parker abruptly stopped, turned and grabbed Broots' collar pulling him close.

"That's why this is the perfect place to conduct secret experiments. Do you get that?!" Parker hissed at him.

Broots could only nod. 

"Good"

She let go of him, turned and continued her stride towards the door.

Suddenly they heard a noised and quickly stepped into a dark hallway close by the door.

Mr. Raines and Lyle walked past them half a minute later. 

Lyle was the first of them to speak.

"He's progressing well. He seems to be faster and generally better than the last one"

"Yees" Raines dragged on the word, as if he was about to say more.

But he didn't get the chance because Lyle spoke again.

"Which is why we need to move him fast. Now that we have the old one we can safely transfer this specimen out of here. He's no longer needed."

"Arrange for transfer in two days. Leave him alone for the rest of the day – and no food the last 24 hours. The sedative will work faster then."

"Do we need a sedative? His behaviour has been flawless so far"

"Yes, but I don't want a repeat of what happened last time. The other's behaviour was also flawless, but he still escaped. Remember – this must be kept discrete. No one knows and I want to keep it that way. Understood?"

Ms. Parker had to struggle to hear what Mr. Raines said since they had moved further down the hall whilst she was stuck in the hallway, and she couldn't hear Lyle's reply at all.

For a second she turned to see if Broots was still there. He was almost shaking, but he was still there.

"S-sedative? Specimen? Ms. Parker, we should get out of here; this isn't safe" 

Ms. Parker wasn't listening to Broots ramblings. Granted, she wondered about some of the same things, but leaving was out of the question. If those two were doing something that the Triumvirate didn't know about this might very well be the chance she had been waiting for. She could finally get rid of the two people she despised most in this world.

Sydney was headed through the long hallways in the Centre, going straight towards the room where they kept his Pretender. He didn't know what to say to him. Welcome home wasn't exactly the best thing to say… he still remembered what had happened the last time he tried to talk of the Centre as home to Jarod… He decided to just start with hello. 

He could see Sam standing beside the door keeping guard. That alone was proof enough that Jarod was the Centres most important asset. Sam wasn't usually used as a common guard. 

Sydney nodded hello to Sam before he reached for the door handle in order to open the door. But all of a sudden Sam laid his hand on the door, stopping Sydney from opening it.

"What are you doing? Remove your hand immediately so that I can enter?!"

"Sorry sir. I have orders that no one is to enter"

"Well, I'm sure that rule doesn't apply for me. You know who I am, Sam. Jarod is my responsibility"

"Actually sir, they were very specific. The rule applies especially for you"

Sydney could feel his temper rising.

"They?!. Who are _they_?!

"The Triumvirate, sir"

Sydney couldn't believe what he was hearing. They intended to keep him away from Jarod. He scowled at Sam before he turned and left. He was furious, and intended to take it out on someone.

*

From inside his cell Jarod had heard everything that had been said. This was good in a way. Maybe now Sydney would come with him when he decided to break out of here… but first there was something he had to solve. The thing he had come here for in the first place. 

Granted, she hadn't been able to get into the room Lyle and Raines just had left… but the room next door had caught her eye. Now she wished it hadn't. The sight that met her made her feel like joining Broots in the corner where he was currently loosing his lunch.

There were huge glasses with distorted 'things' in them. The further into the room she went the more did they remind her of…. human foetuses. Ms. Parker stood like frozen until Broots pecked her on the shoulder. She spun around, gun ready..  

"Whoa! Broots quickly backed off, hands raised.

After realizing whom it was, Ms. Parker lowered the gun; her previous shocked look replaced with an annoyed one. 

"What?!"

"C-can we go, Ms Parker? I really don't think we should be down here. I mean, what is this?"

"I think it's some sort of gene experiment… look at the jars in the back… almost full grown foetuses."

"Oh my God" Broots lifted one of his hands to his mouth. 

Ms Parker ignored him and continued her train of thoughts.

"But this place has been shut down… and since the Centre rarely give up, it probably means that they've succeeded…. so where is the result?"

Ms. Parker started walking around, one hand at her side. 

"I don't know… but let's get out of here before we get caught. W-what if Mr. Lyle, or Mr. Raines comes back and finds us here?"

"Of course! The mystery door -- We've got to get inside."

"W-we?"

Ms. Parker turned and glared at Broots

"Yes, we. But first we've got to talk to Sydney about this. So come on, let's go"

"Don't have to tell me twice"

Mr. Parker stood up behind his desk… his anger showing in his face.

"What do you mean by coming barging into my office and yelling like a madman??"

Sydney stopped and quickly walked over to the desk where he leaned over and placed both of his fists down at the desk.

"No, Mr. Parker, what do you mean by denying me access to my pretender?? He's my life's work, not to mention that I'm probably the only one that can get through to him right now"

"What do you mean?"

"He has been on the run for a long time now, and all of a sudden captured again… if this isn't handled correctly we might loose him – he will lock himself into his mind and never come out again."

"No, what do you mean by saying that I've denied you access to Jarod? I haven't done such a thing."

Sydney stood up again… a little taken aback by Mr. Parkers question. He certainly hadn't expected this … could he trust Mr. Parker to tell the truth?

"Well, if you haven't; then who has?" 

----

_End part five. So, how about those reviews?_


	6. Discoveries, part 6

DISCOVERIES, PART SIX

Disclaimer: None of the Pretender characters belong to me even as much as I wished they did. All I own is the story that I write. 

A/N: I want to thank Dede for betaing this story. She's been great! =)

I also want to thank the people who have reviewed =)

-----------------

Jarod had been sitting in his cell for a long time. A very long time. While it would probably break other people to live in such uncertainly, it worked to opposite way with Jarod. Because it gave him time to think… and for the people who imprisoned him that could be a grave mistake. Because thinking was Jarod's strongest weapon. In a way he was raised to be a weapon. Because he could foresee every consequence for every action, he could find the best way for an attack. Or an escape. And that was their biggest mistake. 

Sydney was confused. He was confused and angry. Who were they to keep him from his pretender? Matter of fact... who were **they**? He didn't know, and he didn't know where to look to find his answers either. Mr. Parker was known to lie in a heartbeat, so he didn't know if he could trust him. Most likely he couldn't. This was a difficult situation.

His attention was soon diverted to another matter when Ms Parker and Broots came through the door in a rather rapid pace. 

He was immediately concerned – Ms. Parker wasn't the type to be intimidated or scared, but she looked like both right now. 

"What's wrong?"

"Y-y-you w-would ne…"

Broots didn't get the chance to say more as Ms. Parker cut him off.

"What stutter boy is trying to say here is that we've discovered something that we thought was too low even for the Centre."

Sydney took a step closer… Jarod was momentarily forgotten.

Broots had regained what little composure he could and was now explaining.

"We were following Mr. Raines and Lyle down to SL 27, and then we listened to a conversation about a subject or something like that, and then they left, and then…"

Or at least he was trying to explain….

Ms. Parker made a gesture with her hand indicating that he should shut up and then she took over. Sydney could see that she was shocked, but only because he knew her so well. She was good at hiding her true emotions.

"After they had left, we snuck into a room next door to the one they came from… and you'll never guess what we found"

As Ms. Parker continued to explained their horrendous find… Sydney grew more and more shocked… but at the same time he began to add two and two together. And he didn't like what it added up to…

"Sydney… earth to Sydney"

"Hmmm, what?"

"You got lost there for a second, do you know anything about this? ….If you do then tell me now."

"No, no I don't know anything about this. But if you'll excuse me, I have some matters to attend to."

"Sydney…" Ms. Parker said it a low tone. She made it clear she didn't believe him when he said he didn't know anything.

"Please Ms. Parker. I don't know anything… yet. But I will let you know if I find something."

Ms. Parker still didn't look convinced, but she decided to give Sydney benefit of the doubt and left. Broots automatically followed. 

After they had left Sydney mentally kicked himself for not thinking of this option. Why hadn't he thought of this? There was one person behind almost everything of the more suspicious kind in the Centre, and still he didn't think of him… 

Another time he might have picked a more subtle way to deal with this person; but there was no time for it now. Sydney picked up his jacket and left.

 The slow breathing could be heard no matter where you were in the Centre… even if the person it belonged to wasn't present. It was synonymous with fear and terror, and as a result some people just couldn't get rid of the sound of that continuous wheezing. It was, and would remain, always in their minds.   

There was one person that didn't fear him however… and that person was Sydney, who had worked with Mr Raines for several years and knew how to handle him. 

Sydney angrily slammed the doors shut after him as he entered Mr Raines' office… without knocking. 

Raines looked annoyed over the sudden intrusion. 

"What do you want?"

"I want access to Jarod"

"Who's stopping you?"

"You are"

"No, I'm not. Jarod is no longer any concern of mine."

Sydney quickly walked up to Raines' desk and slammed his fists in the desk.

"You listen to me! I know that you're behind this!"

Raines stood up.

"I have no idea what you're talking about"

Sydney paused for a while.

"Well then, I guess I was mistaken… sorry for the inconvenience."

He turned and headed for the door, but just before he reached it he turned and shook his head just as if he had just remembered something.

"You know, I just remembered some old files I found the other day… normally I wouldn't have looked at them since they're not mine… but I was bored. And the strange thing is… they all have your name on them, and your progress reports - not to mention your conclusions… but none contains the approval stamp from the Triumvirate. Not a single one… "

Sydney stopped for a bit to look at Raines who definitely didn't look too cool and collected anymore… 

"And I was thinking, these experiments are more on the edge than most of your previous ones… some are even in a free fall by now I would think… so that would mean you're keeping secrets from the Triumvirate, wouldn't it now…?"

Sydney had reached the desk, and was leaning over it – staring Raines directly in the eyes. 

Raines was practically fuming by now.

"Now, I can't think of a single reason why I shouldn't go and tell them about this… who knows… I might even get a gold star…"

Raines stood up, as did Sydney.

"You're going to pay for this you know."

"I'm sure of it."

Raines proceeded to pick up the phone to let Willie know that Sydney should have unrestricted access to Jarod. But before he could dial Sydney stopped him. 

"And I want access to the clone."

"What??!"

"You heard me… it's quite fascinating what you've done, and I want to study him up close."

"No"

"Think about it Raines, do you really want to be a job, and very possibly a life shorter…?"

Raines stared at Sydney. And if looks could kill, Sydney would already have been 6 foot under. Then he relented. 

"Very well, I'll let Willie know… but you will be sorry for this Sydney, I guarantee you that!"

"The one who lives will see"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"M-ms Parker, I really don't think this is a good idea"

"Gee, you don't say Broots"

"I'm serious! What if they find us here…. people can easily disappear at this place you know. And they'll find out what you've done, I'm sure of it."

"Well, I can't. Daddy won't allow it. You on the other hand…."

Broots visibly cringed at the implication… 

"But what about Sydney… he should be here"

"Sydney was acting strange, I have a feeling that he knows what's going on. Or at least he has an idea."

Ms. Parker ignored Broots' continuous babble and focused on getting the mystery door open.

--

What they found shocked Broots and, at the beginning, surprised and in some sort of way fascinated Ms. Parker, but she soon felt a bit shocked and sick as well.

"This is quite amazing Broots… they've actually managed to create a living, breathing clone of Jarod… they've probably made him more clever also, and evenly irritating." 

"I think it's sickening"

"Yeah, well. That too… come on, let's leave before he wakes up and notices us."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sydney took long, quick steps down the hall. He decided it could be a good idea to get there quick. Who knew what Raines was planning next?

As he approached the door, Willie immediately stepped away. It was clear that he had been told what had happened. The edited version, of course.

----

Sydney thought he knew what to say, but as he stepped in and saw his pretender sitting in a corner he found himself at a loss for words.

_End part seven. So, keep those reviews coming! Makes me happy =) (and inspired to work more on this… ;-)_


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